The unrealistic romance aspect of television and books, ruined the idea of love for me. At such a young age, I was taught that love came as easy as it did on the movie screen and as quick as finishing a two hundred page chapter book – then crashed into the reality that romance like that, only came with a written story line.

So it never mattered me what cliché my friends tried to live out with their relationship tragedies, because I didn’t wish to be apart of it, I just wanted to make it through another week.

The bitter aspect towards romance stories, no matter who wrote them, stuck with me and I created a stubbornness about me that never allowed such behavior. I couldn’t take compliments, I couldn’t accept dates, and I ignored feelings and allowed them to just go away with time.

And then I met you. Those feelings, couldn’t be pushed down, I had to see you. I only spoke to you a half an hour, but I wanted to hear your voice.

I had no idea how I wanted to be loved until you showed me. You took this stubborn, shy, insecure girl and you made her into someone who is confident, outgoing, and happy.

It wasn’t the things you bought me, the places you took me, or anything that you did for me. It was the little things.

You listened to me when I spoke, remembering small details. You always told me how beautiful you thought I was, every day, even when I fought back. You picked up on my fidgeting, you subsided my anxiety just by holding my hand. When I look away and back to you, the way you look at me, like I’m all that you ever see. The small gestures, like a balloon on my truck for my birthday. The little things that made it so easy to fall in love with you.

I never knew how much love I was capable of reciprocating when I loved myself too. I could send a paragraph to make you smile when you wake up. I could drop by your favorite ice cream out of the blue. I could pick up a pendent that’s reminds me of you and make a necklace out of it. I could remind you how handsome you are and how amazing you are to me.

Maybe Nicolas Sparks can write a better love story and perhaps James Cameron can direct the perfect scenes – but our love story belongs in the stars, just as much as theirs.